Greenberg, former MLB deputy commissioner and son of Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg, loves the sport.

Just not the Commissioner's job.

"Early on, I told Bud I was not going to be a candidate," Greenberg told USA TODAY Sports. "I'm sticking to that. I'm comfortable with that. I gave it a try in the early 90s, and I'm not at a place in my life where it makes sense to me.

"I know what's involved. It's a 24/7, 365-day schedule that the commissioner has to keep to do it right. The three years I spent in the commissioner's office was exhausting.

"There are a number of very, very qualified candidates who can do it."

Yet, no one is being touted behind the scenes among baseball owners more than Greenberg. He not only is respected among owners and MLB executives, but he is a personal favorite of Selig and powerful Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf.

This is the man who facilitated the sales of six baseball franchises, including the Milwaukee Brewers when Selig's family sold the franchise to Mark Attanasio. He negotiated local TV rights for nine clubs and is currently working on a TV deal with St. Louis Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt, who happens to be chairman of MLB's search committee for a new commissioner. And it was his original business plan that is being used by the Major League Baseball Network.

"I think he'd be spectacular, and everybody in baseball knows it," former MLB commissioner Fay Vincent told USA TODAY Sports. "He's the perfect choice. Think of it, he's a former deputy commissioner. His father is a legendary Hall of Famer. He's a former player. He was an agent, and is very well-regarded by the union. He's a wonderful politician. He's a lawyer.

"The owners all love him.

"And both Selig and Reinsdorf, two of the game's biggest power brokers, think the world of Steve Greenberg."

Selig and Reinsdorf told USA TODAY Sports that Greenberg is not just a close friend, but a trusted confidant, and has been invaluable in negotiations selling franchises and procuring TV deals.

"He's done a wonderful job," Selig says. "He's been a great advisor for us and he's really been involved."

Reinsdorf says: "He's very well known, very well liked, and has got a great reputation.

"If he wanted to, he'd be a great candidate."

Yet, while Greenberg is enamored by the position, and would be honored to follow Selig - calling him easily baseball's greatest commissioner since Judge Landis - he simply is not interested in leaving his investment company.

And with six months until Selig's final day on the job, no single candidate has emerged for owners to unanimously endorse. While the candidacy list is being privately whittled down, a small group remains under strong consideration:

"The (search) group is doing fine, quiet and thoughtful," Selig said. "I'm very optimistic. It's working just the way I thought it would."

While Selig has been masterful in owner relations, getting owners to unanimously agree on virtually every issue, his biggest challenge yet may be getting a consensus on his replacement.

Vincent, who hired Greenberg as his deputy commissioner in 1989 after the death of MLB commissioner Bart Giamatti, believes the job will eventually go to Manfred.

"Manfred is clearly Selig's choice," Vincent says, "and since Selig is undefeated in politics in baseball, Manfred will get it.

"Manfred would be a wonderful choice.

"But if you want the best choice, it's Steve. The reality is that the union really controls baseball. Baseball tried to break the union in 1994 and couldn't. Steve would be perfect dealing with the union."

Greenberg, a graduate of Yale who played five years in the Washington Senators organization, is flattered by the praise. He knows his father, regarded as the first Jewish star player in American team sports who later became general manager of the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox, would be proud.

"Honestly, when I think about all this, I think about my dad," Greenberg says. "He spent his whole life in baseball, and I think I'll always be connected. It's been a privilege to work in the game."

Hank Greenberg, ironically, actually was recommended by Atlanta Braves chairman emeritus Bill Bartholomay to be commissioner before Bowie Kuhn. He thought Greenberg would be perfect, just like now. In fact, it was Greenberg who originally proposed the idea of interleague play. The year was 1950.

Now, here are baseball's power brokers, just wishing Greenberg's son would change his mind.

"Listen, it's a great job, don't get me wrong," Greenberg says. "Bud is leaving the game in such a great state. It's just that I already have the greatest job in the world.

"The best commissioners are not the one-term commissioners, but those who are on the job 10 or more years. Whether it's David Stern (NBA), Bud Selig or Pete Rozelle (NFL), the great commissioners are the ones who stay around for a long period of time.

"I don't expect the next commissioner to work until he's 80.

"That's why there will never another Bud Selig."

Then again, if this commissioner search drags along, baseball may soon start wondering if they'll ever find another Steve Greenberg.